The Game of Power

Chloe Sterling was crying again, the 'Live Feed' above her head branding her 'Heartbroken_And_Clueless.'

She was my ticket out of the Rust Belt, but her secret pregnancy with a powerful senator made her a liability. My jaw tightened.

Poverty taught me to cut away anything that dragged me back down. I didn't hesitate.

I dealt with the senator, making it look like a tragic accident.

I manipulated the scandal, stepped into Chloe's shoes, married Liam Vance, and turned him into my puppet. I thought I'd won, untouchable in my new empire.

My naive project, Chloe, found a new 'friend,' Ben. I warned her.

But when I found her bruised, a rage unlike any calculation took over. This was personal.

I tracked Ben down. It was brutal, quick.

But as I stood over his body, Grandma Esther and Liam appeared. They knew everything, had evidence.

My empire teetered. Their solution: frame Chloe, the fragile heiress, for Ben's death.

My Chloe – the girl I'd used, yet somehow cared for.

Before I could process the monstrous demand, Chloe stepped in. She'd heard.

'Don' t. Not for me.' Then, in a heartbreaking act of self-sacrifice, she jumped.

But as grief threatened to consume me, a chilling message flashed across my 'Live Feed': 'Welcome, Ava, to the Next Level.'

My life, this rise to power – all a 'narrative,' a 'test.' They offered a reset.

All memories, all experiences, retained.

Clutching Chloe's worn worry stone, I chose to go back.

I'm twelve again, in the Rust Belt.

But this time, I know the game. I'm ready to play it differently.

Chloe Sterling was crying again.

Not loud, just quiet sniffles into a lace handkerchief, the kind of thing rich girls probably learned in finishing school.

I watched her from across the Sterling library, a room so big my entire childhood apartment could fit in one corner.

Above her head, the Live Feed scrolled.

`User_ChloeS_Status: Heartbroken_And_Clueless`

`Commenter_GossipGirl77: OMG, she STILL doesn't know?`

`Commenter_TruthSeeker_01: "Luke" is playing her HARD.`

My jaw tightened. Chloe, my ticket into this world of old money and power, was about to become a liability.

A massive, nine-month-shaped liability if I didn't act fast.

She looked up, her blue eyes puffy. "Ava, he said he loved me. Luke wouldn't just... disappear."

Luke.

The Feed had been screaming "Senator_Rexford_Thorne_Alias_DETECTED" for weeks.

I kept my face smooth, a mask of concern I' d perfected. "Of course not, Chloe. There must be an explanation."

`LiveFeed_System: Main_Quest_Threat_Level_INCREASING.`

`Commenter_PlotTwist_Lover: Protagonist about to go full dark? Yesss.`

Chloe was the Sterling heiress, sweet, naive, and currently my personal assistant. My confidante.

My project.

Her father had practically handed her to me, "Keep an eye on Chloe, Ava. You' re so sensible."

Sensible enough to see Senator Thorne, a man twice her age with a wife and a career to protect, wouldn't stick around for a scandal baby with a girl who thought "Luke" was a struggling artist.

"He promised we'd go away together," Chloe whispered, clutching her stomach.

A small, almost imperceptible bump.

But I saw it. And the Feed saw it.

`LiveFeed_System: Biological_Complication_Timer_Activated.`

`Commenter_BadSeed_Fan: Ava's gonna fix this. Brutally. Hope so.`

I needed the Sterling connection. I needed their resources, their name.

Poverty in the Rust Belt teaches you one thing: cling to any lifeline, and cut away anything, or anyone, that threatens to drag you back under.

Chloe, bless her innocent heart, was now a five-alarm fire threatening to burn down everything I' d built.

"We'll find him, Chloe," I said, my voice soft.

But the Feed knew better.

`LiveFeed_System: Objective_Update_Neutralize_Threat_Rexford_Thorne.`

My eyes narrowed. Objective accepted.

Finding Senator Rexford "Rex" Thorne wasn't hard.

Politicians, even corrupt ones, have schedules. Public appearances. Predictable routines.

The Live Feed helped.

`Commenter_StalkerMode_Pro: He's at 'The Gilded Lily' tonight. Private room. No "Luke" persona.`

`LiveFeed_System: Target_Acquired.`

I left Chloe with a sedative in her tea and a vague promise of hiring a private investigator.

She'd be asleep for hours.

The Gilded Lily was the kind of place where secrets were bought and sold over expensive scotch.

Thorne was in a back room, laughing, a woman who wasn't his wife draped over him.

He didn't see me approach.

No dramatic confrontation. No pleas.

I wasn't Chloe.

I moved fast. The heavy crystal ashtray on his table connected with his temple.

A solid, satisfying thud.

He went down without a sound. The woman screamed.

I grabbed her, hand tight over her mouth. "He fell. Hit his head. You saw nothing."

Her eyes were wide with terror. She nodded frantically.

`Commenter_IceQueen_Ava: Damn, girl. No hesitation.`

`Commenter_CleanUpCrew_Needed: This is gonna be messy.`

I dragged Thorne' s unconscious body towards a service exit. He was heavier than he looked.

The Feed was buzzing.

`LiveFeed_System: Threat_Contained. Status_Pending_Resolution.`

`Commenter_MoralCompass_Broken: Is this... justice? Or just Ava?`

I didn't care about justice. I cared about results.

I propped him in his own car, in a dark alley a few blocks away. Made it look like a robbery gone wrong. Wiped my prints.

Then I called the police from a burner phone, reporting an abandoned vehicle, a man possibly injured.

By the time I got back to the Sterling mansion, Chloe was still asleep.

I sat by her bed, watching her.

Her face, even in sleep, was troubled.

"It's okay," I murmured, more to myself than to her. "I took care of it."

The next morning, the news was full of Senator Thorne's "tragic accident." A severe concussion. Memory loss. Career likely over.

Chloe woke up confused, then devastated when "Luke" remained missing and the news of Thorne's accident didn't even register as connected.

I held her while she cried.

"He's gone, Chloe," I said, stroking her hair. "Some men are just like that."

`LiveFeed_System: Emotional_Manipulation_Level_Expert.`

`Commenter_PuppetMaster_Ava: She's got Chloe wrapped around her little finger.`

Chloe clung to me. "What will I do, Ava? About the... the baby?"

Her voice was a tiny thread of fear.

"We'll figure it out," I said. "Together. You're not alone."

And she wasn't. She had me.

Whether she liked what that meant or not.

The Feed showed a new notification: `Affection_Target_Chloe_Sterling: Ava_Bellweather.`

Interesting. But not entirely unexpected.

Vulnerability bred attachment.

I would use it.